Exports may be on a path of recovery with the merchandise sent to foreign nations in July reaching almost the same levels as a year ago, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said on Tuesday. Reiterating Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s dream of Atma Nirbhar Bharat, Piyush Goyal said that the country “today is in a mood” to not just revive economic activities but also to become self-reliant. Exports may be on a path of recovery with the merchandise sent to foreign nations in July reaching almost the same levels as a year ago, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said on Tuesday. “Our exports have almost reached last year’s July level, with nearly 90 per cent of our export of July 2019 having come back,” he said, adding that if oil related exports are removed, in which India is largely a small value adder, almost more than 95 per cent on the revival of our exports has been achieved. Several other indicators are also indicating an economic recovery. Reiterating Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s dream of Atma Nirbhar Bharat, Piyush Goyal said that the country “today is in a mood” to not just revive economic activities but also to become self-reliant. He also hammered on improving the quality and competitive pricing of the products. The commerce ministry is to release the official export numbers for the month of July and is expected to announce them during mid-August. He said that this tendency to raid RBI reserves had existed even before Covid appeared on the scene.Dividend transfer from RBI to govt a problem: Former RBI deputy governor Viral AcharyaThe hike in GST levy on modules and related plant construction activities was seen to reduce returns by a further 60 bps.Solar firms seen receiving Rs 4,000 crore as regulatory payments: Crisil
June was the fourth month in a row where India reported a fall in exports. Exports were down in key categories including petroleum and textiles, however, India’s trade turned surplus for the first time in 18 years as imports nosedived by a massive 47.59 per cent. Exports in value terms were down by 12.41 per cent to $21.91 billion in June on the back of weak global demand amid the coronavirus pandemic. The rate of contraction of the country’s total merchandise shipments slowed down to 36.7 per cent in May and 12.41 per cent in June after witnessing a record fall of 60.28 per cent in April, the month when India followed one of the strictest lockdowns in the world. Meanwhile, exporters are losing over two-thirds of duty remission benefits after government capped MEIS outlay. The government has set an upper limit of Rs 9,000 crore on Merchandise Exports from India Scheme (MEIS) for the April-December period.
Source: Financial Express
Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri on Tuesday made a case for immediate review of the India-ASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement and said it would help realise the true bilateral trade potential between India and the 10-member nation bloc of Southeast Asian countries. "The review of the India-ASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement is pending. "An immediate review of the agreement and the effective utilisation of the ASEAN-India Free Trade Agreement will contribute to the realisation of our 2020 trade target of $200 billion set by both parties," the Minister of State for Commerce and Industry said. The minister added that he believes the FTA review will provide the partners the opportunity to further unlock potential. The proposed scope of the review of the free-trade agreement (FTA) between India and ASEAN could include issues like customs procedures, further liberalisation of trade in goods and exchange of data, Parliament was informed in November last year. The ASEAN-India Trade in Goods Agreement was signed on August 13, 2009, and came into force on January 1, 2010. The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is a regional intergovernmental organisation comprising 10 Southeast Asian countries. It aims to promote intergovernmental cooperation and facilitates economic, political, security, military, educational, and socio-cultural integration among its members and other Asian states. The ASEAN members are Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, The Philippines, Vietnam, Myanmar, Cambodia, Brunei and Laos. According to the minister, both India and ASEAN need to redouble their efforts towards strengthening cooperation in services sectors such as e-commerce, IT-enabled services, financial services, banking and tourism. "I think we have to find ways and means of ensuring that the ASEAN economies are equally welcoming of and receptive to exports from India as we are to imports from the ASEAN economies," said the minister. Puri highlighted that a significant component of the bilateral trade engagement between India and the ASEAN countries is in the medium and high technology-intensive trade. In 2018, 40.6 per cent of imports and 28.8 per cent of exports from India to ASEAN were in this product category. "India's annual trade deficit with ASEAN is close to $24 billion. The reasons are multiple and I would like in the coming months and years to see this trade deficit narrow," said the minister at a virtual conference organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII). Puri pointed out that there is a range of non-tariff barriers, import regulations, quotas and export taxes. Expressing confidence that India and the ASEAN region will emerge "much stronger" by overcoming challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic, the minister said we need to prepare for the fact that this may not be the last public health emergency faced by us. Noting that "we must brace ourselves for a situation that further pandemics may come", the minister said adding that we should make sure to learn lessons from the ongoing pandemic which will stand us in good stead in the years to come. Puri, also the civil aviation minister, said over 1 million stranded Indians have been benefitted from the Vande Bharat Mission. "We are carrying out Vande Bharat flights to bring back Indians stranded in countries abroad, and in spite of all the restrictions and the difficulty of navigating through the Covid-19 terrain, we have brought back over 1 million," he added. The minister stated that digital technologies such as e-commerce, financial technology, artificial intelligence and blockchain held the maximum promise for collaboration between India and the countries in the IORA (Indian Ocean Rim Association) region. In his address, Seang Thay, Secretary of State, Ministry of Commerce, Royal Government of Cambodia, said India and Cambodia have a long history of cooperation and his government is now seeking to enter into a bilateral FTA with India. Senator Datuk Lim Ban Hong, deputy minister, Ministry of International Trade and Industry, Malaysia, called for greater cooperation between Malaysia and the ASEAN region, especially in sectors such as digital economy and e-commerce, connectivity, and food and agriculture. U Aung Htoo, deputy minister, Ministry of Commerce, Republic of the Union of Myanmar, called for greater cooperation in agriculture and food processing and e-commerce and digitisation. He said the proposed Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership needs to be concluded as soon as possible, and invited India to re-join the negotiation process. Suresh Prabhu, India's sherpa to G20 & G7, said Prime Minister Narendra Modi has changed the dimension of India's Look East policy, making it far more strategic. "We need to look at the region as a new hub of growth integrating ASEAN and Oceanic countries with a strong focus on integrated logistics development, opening new routes and connectivity, both digital and infrastructure." He added that ASEAN countries would be drivers of economic growth in the region.
Source: Business Standard
The Finance Ministry on Tuesday said banks have sanctioned loans of about Rs 1,37,586 crore under the Rs 3-trillion Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS) for MSME sector, hit hard by the economic slowdown due to Covid-19 pandemic. However, disbursements against this stood at Rs 92,090.24 crore till August 3 under the 100 per cent ECLGS for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs). The scheme is the biggest fiscal component of the Rs 20-trillion Aatmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan package announced by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in May. The latest numbers on the ECLGS, as released by the Finance Ministry, include disbursements by all 12 public sector banks (PSBs), 23 private banks and 30 non-banking financial companies (NBFCs). Last week, the government widened the scope of the Rs 3-trillion MSME credit guarantee scheme by doubling the upper ceiling of loans outstanding to Rs 50 crore and including certain individual loans given to professionals like doctors, lawyers and chartered accountants for business purposes under its ambit. The scheme is now applicable for companies with an annual turnover of Rs 250 crore as against the earlier Rs 100 crore and the maximum amount of guaranteed emergency credit line (GECL) funding under the scheme doubled to Rs 10 crore. "As of 03 Aug 2020, the total amount sanctioned under the 100 per cent Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme by #PSBs and private banks stands at Rs 1,37,586.54 crore, of which Rs 92,090.24 crore has already been disbursed," the finance minister said in a tweet. Under the ECLGS, the loan amounts sanctioned by PSBs increased to Rs 72,820.26 crore, of which Rs 52,013.73 crore has been disbursed as of August 3, she said. At the same time, private sector banks have sanctioned Rs 64,766 crore and disbursed Rs 40,076 crore. "Compared to 23 July 2020, there is an increase of Rs 7,094.75 crore in the cumulative amount of loans sanctioned & an increase of Rs 10,025.23 crore in the cumulative amount of loans disbursed by both #PSBs and private sector banks combined as on 03 Aug 2020," Sitharaman said. Among the banks, SBI has sanctioned the highest amount at Rs 21,121 crore of loans and disbursed Rs 16,047 crore. It is followed by Punjab National Bank, which has sanctioned Rs 9,809 crore. However, its disbursements stood at Rs 6,351 crore as of August 3. On May 20, the Cabinet approved additional funding of up to Rs 3 trillion at a concessional rate of 9.25 per cent through ECLGS for MSME sector. Under the scheme, 100 per cent guarantee coverage is provided by the National Credit Guarantee Trustee Company (NCGTC) for additional funding of up to Rs 3 trillion to eligible MSMEs and interested Micro Units Development and Refinance Agency (MUDRA) borrowers in the form of a GECL facility. For this purpose, a corpus of Rs 41,600 crore was set up by the government, spread over the current and next three financial years. The scheme will be applicable to all loans sanctioned under GECL facility during the period from the date of announcement of the scheme to October 31 or till the amount of Rs 3 trillion is sanctioned under GECL, whichever is earlier. All MSME borrower accounts with an outstanding credit of up to Rs 50 crore as on February 29, which were less than or equal to 60 days past due as on that date, i.e., regular, SMA-0 and SMA-1 accounts, and with an annual turnover of up to Rs 250 crore are eligible for GECL funding under the scheme.
Source: Business Standard
New Delhi: The government on Tuesday said that all claims related to a key scheme for services exports have been disposed of except those in Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore. Services exporters had alleged that hundreds of crores in claims were pending for multiple years under the Service Exports from India Scheme (SEIS), compounding liquidity problems of the sector hit the hardest by the Covid19 outbreak. “All SEIS claims have been disposed of except in Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore. There was a deadline for July,” said Director General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) Amit Yadav at a virtual event. Launched in 2015 to boost services exports from the country, the scheme oers incentives of 5-7% of net foreign exchange earned and it covers nine broad services sectors including communication, business, construction and tourism, among others. The benet is extended in the form of duty credit scrip which enables the holder to import all goods which are freely importable without payment of basic customs duty. The scrip and the goods imported against the scrip are freely transferable. In 2018-19, a total of 6,376 scrips were issued under SEIS by various regional authorities worth Rs 4,262.8 crore. Industry bodies has represented to the government citing pendency, which especilaly went up after the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence issued notices to many exporters over misuse of the scheme. Claims were also stuck in cases where there were issues under the now discontinued Served From India Scheme. Yadav also said that the Merchandise Export from India Scheme (MEIS) will go away in December. Certain sections of the government have said that MEIS, a key incentive for exporters, has failed to deliver the desired result of boosting exports. India's merchandise exports have hovered around $300 billion in the last ve years, despite the scheme’s liberal application across sectors. The liability under MEIS was around Rs 45,000 crore in FY20. Yadav also said that by the end of the year, there will be an overhaul of the DGFT’s systems on Advance Authorisation and Export Obligation Discharge. “Then other aspects will come in. It is work in progress,” he said. Last month, DGFT launched a new digital platform the rst phase of which will cater to the services related to the issuance of Import Export Code (IEC), modication, amendment processes along with a Chatbot (a virtual assistant). Other online modules relating to Advance Authorisation, EPCG, and Exports Obligation Discharge which are part of next phase will be rolled out subsequently after the rst phase stabilizes.
Source: Economic Times
But the regulations may be hard for domestic MSMEs to follow In a move that could slow down large-scale imports of machinery and equipment from China, the Department of Heavy Industries is planning to soon come out with ‘Omnibus Technical Regulations’ for Safety of Machinery in India making it mandatory for both imported and indigenous items to obtain certification from the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS). Senior officials from the DHI are holding the last round of consultations with stakeholders, including various chambers and councils, and efforts are on to put the regulations in the public domain within a short time, an official aware of the developments told BusinessLine. “While the technical regulations will make it more difficult for imports to flow in from China because of the mandatory BIS certification, the flip side is that the Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in the country, too, may find it difficult to strictly follow the regulations,” the official said. Safe manufacturing The BIS recently said it is framing mandatory quality standards for 371 items identified by the Commerce Ministry and the process will be completed by March 2021. Compulsory standards and testing have already been announced for a number of steel items and toys which has led to protests from trade partners such as the European Union. Once the technical regulations for machinery are in place, the identified items cannot be manufactured, imported, sold or distributed, without conforming to the specified standards and compulsorily need to bear the ‘machinery safety mark’ specified by the (BIS), the official explained. The technical regulations will be designed to make manufacturing activities safer in the country by preventing loss of lives and injures, apart from serving the dual purpose of discouraging exports from China. “Since safety certifications obtained outside the country will not be acceptable and imports will have to be tested all over again in Indian labs for qualifying for BIS licences, the move will serve as a disincentive for imports,” the official explained. In 2019-20, India imported electrical machinery and parts worth $19 billion from China, which was around a third of its total imports worth $65 billion from the country. Some in the industry are worried that as the new standards would also be applicable on domestic industry, the MSME sector may find it difficult to adhere to these as many may not understand these fully and their cost of operations, too, will go up.
Source: The Hindu Business Line
NEW DELHI: India is well on the path to recovery from a trough in April, supported by proactive government and central bank policies, a finance ministry report said on Tuesday, but cautioned that the increase in Covid-19 cases and subsequent intermittent lockdowns make the recovery prospects fragile and call for constant and dynamic monitoring. “With India unlocking, the worst seems to be over as high-frequency indicators show an improvement from the unprecedented trough the economy had hit in April 2020,” according to the monthly report from the department of economic affairs.These high frequency indicators include the index of industrial production (IIP), purchasing managers’ index (PMI), power generation, production of steel & cement, railway freight, traffic at major ports, air cargo & passenger traffic, e-way bill generation capturing inter-state movement of goods, consumption of petroleum products and motor vehicle registration.The Indian economy has been hit hard by the impact of the coronavirus and most forecasts say that it is expected to face a sharp contraction in the current fiscal year due to the impact of the lockdown.
Source: Times of India
With export consignments gradually picking up, domestic ports are adjusting to the new normal, bringing back their cargo volumes month after month. “The unlocking that started in June (in Maharashtra) has helped the port a great deal since export consignments began coming to the terminal. Until then, we were dealing only with imports. This helped us push up volumes,” a senior official with traffic division of Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) told Business Standard on conditions of anonymity. Mumbai-based JNPT is the country’s largest major port in container cargo. Between April-July, the facility handled container traffic of 1,192,165 TEUs (Twenty-foot equivalent units), about 80 per cent of the total traffic it had handled in the same period last year. “Due to unlock situation, the gap between import-export is narrowing rapidly and has come back to the usual 12,000 containers per day handling at the port today,” informed the JNPT official. In July, JNPT handled 3,44,316 TEUs container traffic, about 19 per cent up from previous month. Meanwhile, Ruia-owned Essar Ports too witnessed encouraging volumes in the period under review. “We have seen an appreciable increase in the cargo handling numbers at our ports. In the month of July, we reached almost 95 per cent of our normal volumes, which is a growth of 74 per cent over April. The recovery over the months has been quick owing to increased demand from power, steel and oil sectors," said Rajiv Agarwal, managing director and chief executive officer at Essar Ports. In July, Essar Ports clocked 4.39 million tonne cargo, significantly up from 2.52 million tonne noted in the month of April."Our terminals, across the western and eastern coasts are already performing at the pre-Covid levels and have adjusted to the new normal admirably taking full operational and safety precautions while maintaining a smooth supply chain," Agarwal informed. Essar Ports’ current operations span over four terminals with a combined capacity of 110 MTPA. This is roughly 5 per cent of India’s port capacity. The company is in non-containerised bulk cargo space. Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Limited (APSEZ) ended the Jun quarter with a throughput of 41.5 million tonne across its nine operating ports in the country. This was, 27 per cent lower than 57 million tonnes of cargo clocked in the same period last year. In Q1FY19, the company’s throughput stood at 48 million tonnes. “We are pleased to inform that in the first quarter of Financial Year 2021, Mundra port has become the largest container Port in India, surpassing JNPT volume,” said Adani Ports in an exchange filing. Adani Ports along with Gujarat Pipavav, another private port player in the domestic market has their earning scheduled by mid-August. Gujarat Pipavav too struggled to buckle up amid the Covid-19 pandemic, which sent cargo volumes for a toss across all ports in the country. A thawed trade and broken supply chain brought all businesses to a standstill in April and since then port companies were grappling to put volumes together to reach their previously achieved targets. In container cargo, APM Terminal-led Gujarat Pipavav clocked 186,000 TEUs in June quarter, down from 221,000 TEUs in the same period last year. Its bulk volume was at 0.41 million tonne in the period under review, flat sequentially. Liquid cargo moved tad up in June quarter to 0.21 million tonne, from 0.19 million tonne in March quarter.“We do not know whether, we will be able to continue the cargo momentum going ahead as a lot depends on demand, but at operations, ports have certainly adjusted to the new normal and will be able to function smoothly,” said the JNPT traffic division official.
Source: Business Standard
Cracking the whip on tax defaulters, the Delhi government Tuesday warned them of stringent action as it found that 10,800 companies did not pass on the full amount they collected from people as taxes, an official statement said. It stated that around 970 companies have paid zero tax to the Delhi government from January to March. The statement said the government has issued notices to all defaulters, saying that the tax should be paid within 15 days failing which stringent action would be taken against them. The Delhi government has so far evaluated 15,000 companies and plans to examine seven lakh firms registered under the GST, the statement said. "The Delhi government has received around Rs 2,015 crore lesser tax than last year's (collection). In 2019, the government had collected around Rs 5,792 crores as tax returns but this year from January to March, the tax collection has been only Rs 3,777 crore," the statement said. The Delhi government has also issued notices to 111 liquor companies that did not pay VAT from January to March.In the statement, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, who also holds the finance portfolio, appealed to all the companies that have not deposited the full tax to immediately deposit the amount. "This is public money which the companies have collected from the people but did not deposit to the government. This will affect government work for the development of the citizens including the fight against the COVID pandemic. "The Delhi government will take stringent actions against the companies who will not deposit the full amount of tax," Sisodia was quoted as saying. The Trade & Taxes Department has started analysing the return filing status of taxpayers registered in GST. "Around 15,000 high turnover taxpayers were analysed and it was seen that almost 970 taxpayers belonging to both Centre and state jurisdiction have not filed returns for Q4 2019-20 and Q1 2020-21. The extended time period granted for the filing of GST return for Q1 2020-21 got over in July 2020," the government said in statement. The department has been able to recover Rs 10 crore from two such defaulting companies in the last one week, it said, adding that it is also analysing the tax payment profile of such taxpayers along with their overall tax profile in the previous quarters. Last week, three major search operations were conducted against the defaulters, including marble and granite companies and bulk taxpayers and a tax of Rs 20.70 lakh was collected from them. "In one case, the company's office was sealed. In the second case, the company's papers were confiscated. The Delhi government has also taken action against movement of goods without carrying e-way bills. "With effect from June 23, around 140 vehicles have been detained and tax and penalty collected to the tune of approximately Rs 1 crore," it added.
Source: Business Standard
India has spelt out terms for backing the next head of the World Trade Organization (WTO), with the race to helm the UN body heating up. The country will back candidates in favour of having a global trade facilitation pact for services, ensuring food security in poorer nations, and committing to talks on developmental issues. At present, eight candidates from as many nations are vying for the position of director general, with incumbent Roberto Azevedo having announced he will be leaving office on August 31. New Delhi has not yet declared its support to any candidate, and ...
Source: Business Standard
Surat: With moral of Surat’s trade and industry already down due to poor demand, the Southern Gujarat Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SGCCI) has taken up a task to boost the confidence of the entrepreneurs in Surat and south Gujarat region across all sectors. Known as the knowledge series, the SGCCI is posting ‘Letters of Confidence’ written by the trade and industry leaders to its 9,000-odd members to revitalize their confidence to fight the battle against Covid-19. According to SGCCI office-bearers, coronavirus pandemic has dealt a major blow to the industrial activities in Surat and south Gujarat region, which is the hub of the textiles, diamonds and gems and jewellery. While the diamond industry is operating at less than 30% of its capacity, the man-made fabric (MMF) sector is the most hard-hit with industrial production down to 15%. “Industry leaders from various sectors including diamonds, textile, chemicals, engineering etc. have been shortlisted for writing, letters addressed to the entrepreneurs. In the letters, industry leaders would talk about the current situation developing around coronavirus pandemic, plague epidemic in the past, devastating floods and how every time the trade and industry rose like a phoenix,” said interim president of SGCCI, Dinesh Navadiya. “More than the government’s support, industries need the emotional support of their leaders in such turbulent times. They need to be told not to lose hope and tide over the Covid-19 pandemic and look towards growing their businesses,” he added. Chairman of Venus Jewels, Sevanti Shah, who is the first in the industry to write ‘Letter of Confidence’ said, “I am a witness of the devastating floods of 1969, the bubonic plague of 1994, the devastating 2006 floods and the global economic downturn in 2008. During all these calamities, I have seen the industries rise like phoenix despite all the odds. Same is going to happen after the coronavirus pandemic, I am confident of that.”
Source: Times of India
A top official said that the project is expected to be completed by 2024. The paraxylene (PX) and puried terephthalic acid (PTA) plant will be integrated with the IOCL”s renery facility in the port town of Jagatsinghpur district. “The integrated paraxylene (PX) and puried terephthalic acid (PTA) complex plant in Paradip will be set up at an estimated investment of Rs 13,805 crore to facilitate textile sector,” the ocial said. Also Read: Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik greets people on the occasion of Raksha Bandhan The project will generate approximately ve million man-days of employment over the three-year plant construction period, he said. The petrochemicals complex will have a PX production capacity of 800,000 tonne per annum, which would be the feedstock for the manufacturing of PTA. The capacity of PTA production would be 1 200,000 tonne per annum. PTA is a raw material for the production of polyester. Speaking on the development, IOCL Chairman SM Vaidya said this plant along with the upcoming mono-ethylene glycol facility of 357-kilo tonne per annum capacity in Paradip would be a ready source of feedstock for IndianOil”s upcoming 300-KTA textile yarn manufacturing project at Bhadrak in Odisha. IndianOil”s MEG production facility is already under implementation and will become operational by the end of 2021.
Source: Orissa Post
Surat: While the Surat Municipal Corporation (SMC) has asked textile industry to bear the cost of getting migrant workers’ rapid antigen and antibody tests, its traders have demanded the civic body to instead make separate arrangements in Dhanvantri Raths to test daily wagers in the markets. The Federation of Surat Textile Traders Association (FOSTTA) and Textile Yuva Brigade (TYB) have submitted a memorandum to the municipal commissioner, labour department and the State health department with their demand in this regard. Stating that the daily wagers are not registered with the traders and so they will not bear expense of the tests suggested by the department under the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) guidelines. Lalit Sharma, president of TYB told TOI, “Daily wagers are not the liability of textile traders. The traders are doing the antibody and rapid antigen tests of their staff members coming from other states. However, the daily wagers are left in the lurch and that they may be the super-spreaders in the textile markets.” Sharma furher said that daily wagers who are earning less than Rs 500 per day are unable to spend hefty charges for the antibody and antigen tests. Champalal Bothra, secretary of FOSTTA said, “There are over 25,000 daily wagers in the markets post-lockdown. Traders won’t be able to spend money for testing the daily wagers. IF they continue to roam around in the markets without tests, there is a fear of the Covid-19 infection spreading fast among the traders community. We have requested the corporation to facilitate the testing of the daily wagers free-of-cost” A senior health officer in SMC said, “We are yet to take any decision on the testing of the daily wagers. About 121 Dhanvantri raths are deployed across the city and over 40,000 people are checked on daily basis.
Source: Times of India
|
Item |
Price |
Unit |
Fluctuation |
Date |
|
PSF |
766.49 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
05-08-2020 |
|
VSF |
1189.14 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
05-08-2020 |
|
ASF |
1692.02 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
05-08-2020 |
|
Polyester POY |
729.24 |
USD/Ton |
0.39% |
05-08-2020 |
|
Nylon FDY |
1941.31 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
05-08-2020 |
|
40D Spandex |
3982.91 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
05-08-2020 |
|
Nylon POY |
938.42 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
05-08-2020 |
|
Acrylic Top 3D |
1776.55 |
USD/Ton |
-0.80% |
05-08-2020 |
|
Polyester FDY |
1862.51 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
05-08-2020 |
|
Nylon DTY |
902.60 |
USD/Ton |
0.80% |
05-08-2020 |
|
Viscose Long Filament |
2149.05 |
USD/Ton |
-0.66% |
05-08-2020 |
|
Polyester DTY |
5157.72 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
05-08-2020 |
|
30S Spun Rayon Yarn |
1677.69 |
USD/Ton |
-0.09% |
05-08-2020 |
|
32S Polyester Yarn |
1318.08 |
USD/Ton |
-0.54% |
05-08-2020 |
|
45S T/C Yarn |
2156.21 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
05-08-2020 |
|
40S Rayon Yarn |
1833.86 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
05-08-2020 |
|
T/R Yarn 65/35 32S |
1661.93 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
05-08-2020 |
|
45S Polyester Yarn |
1490.01 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
05-08-2020 |
|
T/C Yarn 65/35 32S |
2034.43 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
05-08-2020 |
|
10S Denim Fabric |
1.13 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
05-08-2020 |
|
32S Twill Fabric |
0.64 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
05-08-2020 |
|
40S Combed Poplin |
0.92 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
05-08-2020 |
|
30S Rayon Fabric |
0.47 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
05-08-2020 |
|
45S T/C Fabric |
0.65 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
05-08-2020 |
Source: Global Textiles
Note: The above prices are Chinese Price (1 CNY = 0.14327 USD dtd. 05/08/2020). The prices given above are as quoted from Global Textiles.com. SRTEPC is not responsible for the correctness of the same.
Local policymakers are driving Cambodia’s regional geography, young population and low labour costs to attract more foreign direct investment (FDI) as the Kingdom releases its new five-year development plan for the garment industry. The Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF) has been preparing the five-year development plan (2020-2025) for the garment and textile industry that will provide an important roadmap to set out a vision to transform the sector into a high-value, supportive and diversified industry. According to the draft, the strategy will continue to improve working conditions and the welfare of workers, while also promoting direct domestic and international investment and attract investment in industries that support the sector and promote export market diversification. The country needs to take this chance to attract more investment and diversify its production chains with new investment laws, which are expected to be completed this year, according to Phan Phalla, the Ministry of Economy and Finance’s secretary of state. Phalla said the Kingdom’s new laws will provide a smart incentive to new industries because Cambodia needs to improve competition and eliminate trade barriers. Ngoun Meng Tech, director-general of the Cambodia Chamber of Commerce (CCC) said that so far the CCC has not seen the new draft law on investment. However, in general, he said having a good investment law will attract more investments to the country and will create more job opportunities for local people and support economic growth. “The MEF is preparing strategies to attract more investors and we hope that what we are doing such as free-trade agreements with China will provide us with more investors,” he said. Referring to the partial loss of the EU’s trade preferential Everything but Arms trading scheme, Meng Tech said the Kingdom’s new investment law will help to mitigate future risk. He said the government’s new online business registration platform is another measure to ease doing business in Cambodia that will reduce processing time and costs for new business owners. Cambodia is home to the largest youth and adolescent population in the South East Asia region, which is attractive for innovation and technology investors because two-thirds of the population is currently under the age of 30. Pech Pisey, executive director of Transparency International Cambodia said to attract investors, the government should reform and prioritise sectors creating and enabling an environment for businesses to thrive. “Fair business competition by applying equal legal framework compliance as well as providing incentives for companies that are best performed legal compliance and curbing public sector from corruption and reducing the cost of doing business is what we need,” he said.
Source: Khmer Times
Experts have raised concerns that Vietnamese businesses are slow in preparing conditions to enjoy preferential tariffs in the Vietnam-EU Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA). Nguyen Hai Minh, EuroCham vice chairman, said the EVFTA has taken effect from Aug 1, but only 2 per cent of 8,600 local enterprises know the details of this FTA and about 20 per cent of them know about the agreement at all. The important thing is that they must really understand the content of this agreement and its conditions. Minh said some textile enterprises are choosing whether or not to meet the rules of origin to enjoy preferential tariffs in this FTA. At present, the main import material of Vietnamese textile enterprises is still from China, so if they do not change suppliers their products cannot satisfy the origin requirements in the EVFTA. “Some businesses say that if they buy the materials from eligible suppliers with higher prices to enjoy tariff preferences, it still won't be as profitable as buying materials from China to enjoy the tariffs according to the EU's Generalised scheme of preferences (GSP) at present. “However, Vietnamese businesses need to know that right after the EVFTA comes into effect, the GSP tariffs would end, ” Minh told the Dau Tu (Investment) newspaper. In addition, the EVFTA's rules on origin are quite complicated. The complexity is the reason that many Vietnamese face mask manufacturers are ineligible to export to the EU, even if they already have customers, because they do not have the required medical certificates. Vietnamese businesses also do not understand clearly about food hygiene and safety conditions when working with European partners, Minh said. Another problem is the material region. He said, at the beginning of this year, when EU enterprises announced they would stop using plastic packaging, instead of recyclable materials, many Vietnamese businesses have immediately changed to use paper and bamboo packaging. However, when the EU businesses required information about material region for producing the packaging, Vietnamese enterprises could not identify eligible material regions. The planning of raw material regions for Vietnam's many export products is challenging for businesses and also the Government, Minh said. Truong Van Cam, deputy chairman of the Vietnam Textile and Apparel Association, said the association continues to request the Ministry of Industry and Trade to complete the Textile and Apparel Development Plan until 2035, which must clarify requirements for the construction of concentrated industrial parks for textiles and clothing, including waste water treatment. Therefore, the textile and garment industry could have large dyeing and textile projects with products meeting the EVFTA's origin requirements and also CPTPP requirements, Cam said. The country expects to surpass Bangladesh to become the second largest textile and garment exporter to the world market after the EVFTA comes into effect. It could be difficulty reaching this goal if the domestic textile and garment sector does not have a supporting industry, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Quoc Khanh said. Vu Tien Loc, chairman of Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI), also agreed with this proposal and said that it is an important issue that needs attention from ministries and sectors. Vietnam could not promote textile and garment exports if the country does not create favourable conditions to develop the auxiliary industry for the textile and garment sector as well as call on investment to this industry. VCCI has proposed the National Assembly to formulate the Law on Auxiliary Industry for receiving a new wave of foreign direct investment, Loc said. The State also needs institutional reforms, complete the legal framework, and improve investment and business environment to meet the EVFTA requirements, he said.
Source: The Star
Textile and electronics have been the two export-oriented sectors mostly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, an official has said. Textile and electronics have been the two export-oriented sectors mostly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, an official has said. Nguyen Thi Xuan Thuy, deputy director of the industrial development centre under the Ministry of Industry and Trade, made the statement during the webinar themed 'Global Value Chains in the Time of COVID-19: The Experience of Ethiopia and Vietnam’, hosted last week by the World Bank Chief Economist Offices of the Africa and East Asia & Pacific Regions and the Finance, Competitiveness and Innovation Global Practice. “Most Vietnamese textile and apparel companies are currently involved in the outsourcing practice, closely linked to consumer markets,” Thuy said. “However, the sector is facing major difficulties and challenges related to branding. Textile businesses depend heavily on global value chains. “Amid the COVID-19 crisis, most companies have had to lay off a large number of employees to cope with the pandemic. Only some large-scale companies can maintain their workforce,” she said. Meanwhile, most businesses in the electronics industry are multinational enterprises (MNEs) and are more resilient to the effects of COVID-19, Thuy said. “Electronics is a very important industry in Vietnam. MNEs are seeking global suppliers to join the global value chain,” she said. “For the textile sector, the value of apparel exports decreased by 2.3 billion USD in the first half of 2020. Meanwhile, the electronics sector achieved higher export value. In the global industrial manufacturing market, the growth of the textile industry decreased by 7 percent compared to the same period last year, while the electronics sector increased by nearly 3 percent.” Vietnam’s Government was supporting the two sectors with trade facilitation measures as both are export-oriented sectors. It had allowed the opening of the border for goods trading and was willing to issue electronic certificates of origin for goods to make it easier for companies to export and import, she said. Workers and businesses have also been supported by financial assistance packages. For electronics, the Government has taken measures to promote linkages between MNEs and local suppliers. These enterprises also focus more on capacity development, participating in the Government's programmes. From there, local businesses can improve their capacity to become global electronics suppliers, Thuy said. The COVID-19 pandemic posed unprecedented challenges to global value chains, hampering the supply of raw materials and intermediate inputs and the sale of final goods, said Victoria Kwakwa, WB East Asia and Pacific Regional Vice President. Containment measures resulted in shutting down production. Transport problems and customs delays have all interrupted value chains, she said. This was affecting firms and employment in East Asia. Without interventions, these could lead to the permanent losses of important supply chain relationships that are difficult to rebuild, she said.
Source: Vietnam Plus
With the second wave of Covid-19, Vietnam's textile and footwear industries, still reeling from the impact of the first, are likely to see things worsen. TNG Investment and Trading JSC., which manufactures clothing and footwear for various domestic and international brands, reported first half revenues and net profit were down 10 percent and 29 percent at VND1.84 trillion ($79.3 million) and VND66 billion ($2.84 million). The Vietnam National Textile and Garment Group (Vinatex) reported a 15 percent decrease in revenues and 25 percent decrease in profits despite partially switching to manufacturing face masks and protective clothing and retaining all its workers. The situation was "better than predicted," according to Vinatex's deputy general director, Cao Huu Hieu, who said the company had anticipated declines of 30 percent and 50 percent. Song Hong Garment JSC. Reported its profit had fallen by 44 percent to just VND122 billion ($5.26 million). RTW Retail winds Inc., one of its major partners in the U.S., has filed for bankruptcy but still owes it around VND166 billion ($7.16 million). According to a report by the Ministry of Industry and Trade, Vietnam's apparel production in July increased by 13.2 percent from June but was nearly 5 percent down year-on-year in the year to date. Exports of textiles and footwear are down 21 percent and 8 percent. While the switch to making face masks and protective clothing was considered a lifesaver for many garment firms in the first half of the year, a global oversupply of these products have caused prices to plummet. Firms such as TNG have even stopped manufacturing masks and started focusing on high-value products. With many countries, including Vietnam, being hit by a new wave of Covid-19, getting orders has also become a difficult task for the majority of garment firms. Many did not receive a single order for high-value products in the second half of the year, according to the ministry. Another challenge facing the garment industry is the fact that consumer behaviors have changed dramatically due to the pandemic. Recent surveys by the global professional services company Deloitte of the international market and Vietnamese garment producer Vinatex of the domestic market show that the top priorities for consumers now are medicines, food and savings. While clothing did come fourth in the list, the budget for clothes was very limited. "The trend of consuming less, using basic products more and low purchasing power will dominate the fashion market in future," Le Tien Truong, CEO of Vinatex, said. Vinatex forecast the country’s garment exports to decrease by 14-18 percent year-on-year in the second half, and full-year exports to drop by 16 percent to around $32.75 billion. The International Textile Manufacturers Federation said if the Covid-19 pandemic lasts until the end of the year, the global textile and garment trade would decrease by 15-20 percent this year to $600-640 billion, but even if it is controlled well, it would still take at least until the third quarter of next year for demand to return to normal.
Source: Vietnam Express
A McKinsey study states, Bangladesh, Vietnam, Cambodia may soon lose their competitive edge in the global garment industry as manufacturing and marketing advances may make it easier for US and European garment importers to produce garments closer to home. The study says that by 2025, around 25 per cent of global sourcing executives would source 50 per cent of their imported ready-made garments near Europe and the US. Forty-two per cent of the respondents believe that over 30 per cent of these imported garments would come from sources near Europe and America by 2025. However, this may also cause a significant loss of business and employment for many Asian countries.
Shift in fashion influencers and trends
Earlier, when designers created new designs, brands would wait for 30-60 days before launching the final product. This would help them to evolve their consumers’ demands. Now, this demand is influenced by celebrities and social media personalities. The fastpaced fashion trends launched by these celebrities benefit small-sized, and internet-based fashion brands who are able to quickly transform a concept to a finished final product. Earlier, cost-consciousness amongst fashion leaders helped Asian garment manufacturers to win many new orders. However, since the last two decades labor costs in Asia too have been increasing. It is already higher in China than in Mexico. Hence, it makes sense for manufacturers to bring manufacturing closer to destination markets.
Reduction in production costs
In future, automation, robotics, and artificial intelligence will dramatically reduce manufacturing costs and time lead times. New sewing technologies will help brands automate sewing for complicated clothing items like a collared shirt or a pair of fancydress pants. Automation of warehousing, fabric handling during sewing, shipping, and storing of readymade garments will also reduce their production costs. Near-shoring will benefit countries like Turkey, Mexico, Morocco, and several South American nations and islands. However, it may harm labor intensive Asian garments powerhouses like China, Bangladesh, and Vietnam. The concept can be beneficial only if it reduces the cost of garments sourcing by 70 per cent. However, this scenario is around 10 to 15 years away, view experts. Garment automation does not indicate an export collapse for Asian manufacturers like Bangladesh or Vietnam. These countries can start exporting their clothes within the Asian markets of Bangladesh and Vietnam. However, automation may create major challenges for the employment sector of countries like Bangladesh. Hence, these countries would have to find alternative modes of employment for the displaced laborers; else they may lead to huge geopolitical and economic consequences.
Source: Fashionating World
Economic data now brings more gloom than ever before. The global party that started from 2009 and saw high growth levels on the back of massive liquidity ended last year and since then, economic indicators have been disappointing. Add to it the coronavirus induced lockdown that brought economies to a grinding halt. April-June was worst effected as countries shut all economic acitivity to stop the spread of the deadly virus that originated in China. So analysts were prepared for a fall in global growth. But the figures released have been worse than what policy-makers, analysts and investors have been bracing themselves for. All major economies have reported a double digit fall in GDP. The Eurozone’s gross domestic product fell 40.3% annually in the three months through June, exceeding the U.S. economy’s 32.9% contraction, according to recently released data. This is by far the sharpest decline since comparable records began in 1995. To put it simply, while the US economy has been set back by five years, incomes in European nations like Spain are at 2002 levels. Southern European countries have been particularly hit since they are less industrialised, depend more on tourism and witnessed higher number of cases. Germany—Europe’s largest economy— suffered a 10% contraction in this period. What’s worse is that a recovery is unlikely to happen soon given that infections are still being reported, albeit more in the US than in Europe. This explains why the euro has risen steadily against the dollar—indicative of investors’ expectation that Europe will be able to tide over the health crisis sooner than US where fresh cases continue to surge at an alarming pace. This suggests the next few months will see nations going back and forth on lockdowns as fresh cases of coronavirus continue to be reported. Obviously, economic activity will remain subdued till the health crisis is not completely overcome. These data points indicate that the efforts taken by developed countries to bring the global economy back on track must continue. But let’s be clear: the global economy is now very precariously perched. It is staring at a fiscal cliff, governments are now massively overleveraged after the first round of stimulus packages and any attempts to kickstart economic activity get defeated due to the surge in coronavirus cases. Add to it the limited scope of central banks to boost activity much from here on. They have run out of ammunition and fire power. But this author expects multiple stimulus packages in the next few weeks. First will be the second stimulus to rev up the American economy. The previous $3 trillion package expires this week and has failed to lift the world’s biggest economy. Some experts say the U.S. economy is being supported by a massive fiscal stimulus that will likely translate into a 2020 government budget deficit roughly twice as large as Europe’s. With President Trump trailing in ratings and with no prospect of a delay in the presidential election, it is expected that the next stimulus will be equally big, hopefully better targeted. Consumer spending which accounts for over two-thirds of the American economy fell by over 37% this quarter, indicating that households saved the additional money instead of spending it. Likewise, companies have already exhausted their loans with no major green shoots being seen. All eyes are on the US stimulus that will pave the way for other governments to respond in a similar fashion. As for China, the over $13 trillion economy relies heavily on manufacturing which was worst effected due to shuttered factories and cancelled orders. Chinese official economic parameters—which have always been dubious and questionable—showed the second largest economy growing at 3.2% in April-June. Time will tell whether the second largest economy in the world managed to beat a global trend or whether it was part of a larger narrative from Beijing. Gaurie Dwivedi is a senior journalist covering economy, policy and politics.
Source: The Guardian
